The newness of another year and another passion inspired me to write a letter to my future self. About all the things I hope for that person: healing, fulfillment, self-companionship. It's an enlightening practice because it sheds light on what matters most this year and right now. May this letter be what you needed to read today.

My favorite poems about grief do either one of two things: express my own experience in words in a way I never could or call on me to think differently about my experience. It’s a special thing when a poem can do both. Today I’m paying forward a beautiful grief poem written by Denise Levertov. May it call up your compassion the way it does for me.

These November affirmations are my tribute to a time of sacred intent and a token of my growing fondness for the journey that links all things. These affirmations are small decisions to carry on with the meaningful and often demanding work you feel called to do. To stay true to the process. To trust in what we love.

“The word blessing evokes a sense of warmth and protection; it suggests that no life is alone or unreachable.” As this Irish poet shows us, a blessing for transitions (of many kinds) can hold us, guide us, and show us that we don't have to go it alone. We are meant to help and be helped along the way.

Our wedding vows are an ode to the power of love, and friendship, and hope. Because that's how we make it through the difficult things. Our special day, like all I ever share here in writing, was a celebration of how far we’ve all come, and who we've chosen to become. I hope our wedding vows make you feel something.

Letting yourself not just navigate this season, but seeing yourself as inherently part of that process is a radical way of looking at life. It changes almost, if not every single thing. It's a way to find your footing in the world and in this moment, a matter of forgiving yourself and the past enough to move forward.

Courage is the virtue that drives us to follow through with our intentions & to embody all the virtues we identify with. Courage is many things: showing up for difficult discussions, choosing vulnerability over comfort, forgiving ourselves & each other. Together, we can practice courage in small ways. It's how we grow.

I wrote the "I Am Enough" poem back in 2016 with a tattered heart after my dad died. I wrote it to remind myself that even though everything felt wrong, being alive wasn't wrong. I hope this reminds you, too, that you don't have to go it alone. That you're full of the light, you're here on purpose, and this is enough.

You’re not supposed to be able to control how other people live their lives — that’s their thing, not yours. I wrote these affirmations to help us both keep our focus on what matters most in difficult situations and conversations: what we CAN control. And what we can control is enough.